LIGHT FOR MY PATH

YOUTH BIBLE STUDY COURSE

In the first lesson we looked at the Bible and some of the great
prophecies that foretold future events. In the next few lessons, we will
be learning answers to some of the questions that arise in everyoneís mind
like, Where did I come from? Why am I here? Is there a master plan of some
kind, or do things just happen like they do? We are going to study these
questions and a great number of others in this Bible Course.

You may be surprised to find how many of these questions are answered
right in your Bible. It is wonderful how many everyday questions in the
minds of young people are answered in the Bible. As you study, you will be
surprised how clear the Bible will become. If we ask, God has promised us
that in our study of His Word, we will not be alone in trying to
understand the things He has written there; His Holy Spirit will be right
with us to help us understand the truths it contains. In fact, we are
told: "When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all
truth." John 16:13

Many today are neglecting the study of the Bible. When you finish this
course you will know much more about God's Word and will be able to help
others to understand it too.

If you are going to understand all that God has for you to know in His
Word, it is very important that before starting this, and every other
study, that you kneel and ask Him to send His Holy Spirit to teach you His
truth, making it clear to your mind.

The Creation

1. Who does the Bible say made the world? Genesis 1:1

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the
earth."

Note: If people would just believe this Bible statement! God made
everything! Men, however, do not choose to believe this, because of what
it would mean to them. You see, if we accept that God is our Creator, then
it means responsibility on our part to be obedient to His authority. This
is something that the natural heart resists doing.

2. Who helped in the work of creating?Hebrews 1:1, 2

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners
spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last
days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things,
by whom also he made the worlds."

Note: Jesus helped in this wonderful work of making the world. Some
people have not realized that Jesus lived in heaven with His Father before
He was born a babe in Bethlehem. Referring to Himself as the Bread of
Life, He once said to His listeners, "I am the living bread which came
down from heaven." John 6:51. And again He said in John 17:5: "And now, 0
Father, glorify thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had
with Thee before the world was." You can see why Jesus is so interested in
this world, since He helped to make it in the beginning.

3. Who was the third Person that helped in the Creation of this
world?Genesis 1:2

"And the earth was without form, and void; and
darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon
the face of the waters."

Note: Here we see that three Persons called the "Godhead" all
cooperated in the Creation of this world of ours. Someone may ask, "But I
thought we believed in only one God." We do, but our one God is
represented by three Personalities; (1) God, the Father, (2) God, the
Son-Jesus, (3) God, the Holy Spirit. These three are one in purpose, work,
and plan. Let us illustrate it this way: Here is a rope. I ask, "How many
ropes do you see?" You answer, "One." And that is right. But now look
carefully and you will see that it is made up of three strands, yet it is
one rope. In heaven all three persons of the Godhead are interested in us
and in our salvation.

4. How many did Jesus say make up the Godhead? Matthew 28:19

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost."

Note: In this great gospel verse Jesus shows clearly that there are
three; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (The Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit are
the same Person.)

There Must be a Creator

5. What does the Bible say of a person who claims that there is no
God? Psalm 53:1.

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no
God."

Note: Suppose I point to a clock on the wall and say: "Have you
noticed how regular that clock is: No one ever made it, it just sort of
happened. Not only that, but no one even has to wind it." Again, pointing
to a car driving down the street, I say: "That car just happened. No one
ever made it. Some iron in one part of the country came together with some
rubber from another place and kept evolving until it turned into an
automobile."

You would say, "He is not in his right mind; what a fool!" And that is
exactly what God says about people who are so unreasonable as to say:
"There is no God. The world just happened."

6. What does the Bible say that some would foolishly worship, rather
than God? Romans 1:22, 23, 25

"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified
him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their
imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves
to be wise, they became fools. Who changed the truth of God into a lie,
and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is
blessed for ever."

Arenít those wonderful verses? It has only been a little more than a
hundred years since many people began to teach the false idea that the
world just happened, that animal life on the earth started from
some slimy mass millions of years ago, and that it kept changing until it
eventually developed into a man.

But that is not what the Bible teaches. In the text above, Paul states
that people would actually be more willing to say that the came from
animals, than that they were made by the Creator.

Origin of Animals and Trees

7. Who made the trees and the animals in the beginning of our world?
Genesis 1:11, 25.

"And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass,
the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,
whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so."

"And God made the beast of the earth after his
kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the
earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good."

Note: If you will read the first chapter of Genesis, you will see
that God made the fish, fowls, seas, etc. This chapter explains the origin
of all forms of life on this earth-God created them all.

8. Whose image was man made in? Genesis 1:27.

"So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

Note: It was God who created man on this world in the first place.
He created man in His image. Are you not glad to know that you were made
by God, the Ruler of the universe, instead of just happening from
some animal?

Origin of the Stars

9. What else has God made? Genesis 1:16.

"And God made two great lights; the greater light
to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars
also."

10. Who does David say made all the stars and planets in the universe?
Psalm 8:3.

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy
fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained."

Note: Not only is God the Creator of our world, our moon, our sun,
and the planets in our system, but He also created all the other stars or
suns.

How Did God Create?

11. How did God create all things? Psalm 33:6, 9.

"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made;
and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. For He spake, and it
was done; He commanded, and it stood fast."

Note: These verses tell us plainly that God spoke the word and all
things in the universe came into being.

12. Once having been created, how do all things continue on?
Hebrews 1:2, 3.

"Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his
Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the
worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of
his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had
by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on
high."

13. How only can we understand Godís ability to make something out of
nothing? Hebrews 11:3.

"Through faith we understand that the worlds were
framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of
things which do appear."

Note: We can understand Creation only by faith. Letís not say we
donít believe in God simply because we do not see Him or understand
exactly how He works. Letís imagine that you have a little blind dog. He
canít think as you can. He canít do the things you can. Wouldnít it be
foolish for your little dog to ignore you, as though you didnít exist just
because he couldnít see or understand you?

Godís Memorial of Creation

14. At the end of Creation week how did God celebrate His wonderful
work? Genesis 2:1-3.

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished,
and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which
he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he
had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that
in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."

Note: At the end of His creative work God rested on the seventh day
and blessed it and sanctified it. All the created beings in other parts of
the universe sang together and shouted for joy in honor of the wonderful
work of Godís creation.

Our Duty to Our Creator

15. What is our duty to our Creator? Ecclesiastics 12:13.

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."

It is a wonderful thing that you are studying these lessons while you
are young. Thousands of older people wish they had chosen to follow God
when they were younger. Now they find that they have wasted their lives
and "have no pleasure in them".

One afternoon a minister was called to visit a lady who was very ill in
a hospital. Just before prayer was offered she pleaded: "Oh, do pray for
my husband! He is a wonderful man, but he does not believe in God. He says
there is no God. Please pray that he will change his thinking."

Late the next night a call came to the minister to go to a certain
hotel where the husband was staying. He was alone in his room sobbing. As
he opened the door in response to the knock, he cried; "Oh, my wife died
soon after I told her good-by this evening. I canít believe that she is
gone."

After a short visit, and after prayer, the man said to the minister: "I
have always said there is no God. I donít believe in a Creator. But as I
stood here in my room alone tonight, I was looking in the mirror and saw
myself as a living, moving person, and I said: Oh, there must be a God!
Someone must have made me! Surely there will be a resurrection! I now want
to give my heart to God and live for Him so that I may meet my wife in the
earth made new."

How good it is that you are studying these things now, so you need not
go though such a painful experience. The Bible answers all the great
questions and problems of life.

16. What is Godís will for us? 1 Thessalonians 4:3

"For this is the will of God, even your
sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication."

Note: The word sanctify, from which the word sanctification comes,
means to "make holy" or, "to set apart for a holy use." While God would
have us avoid all impurity, as the text states, sanctification goes far
beyond this; it demands purity and holiness in every part of our lives.

17. How is this done in our lives? 1 Thessalonians 2:13

"For this cause also thank we God without
ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard
of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the
word of God, which effectually worketh
also in you that believe."

In Luke 7 is the story of a centurion whose servant was sick. This man
sent word to Jesus, requesting that He should heal his servant. As Jesus
began making His way to the manís home, he came himself to Jesus with the
message that he was not worthy to have Jesus come to his home, but that if
Christ would but speak the word, he knew that his servant would be healed.
Jesus testified that He had not found such faith in all Israel. He
recognized this manís faith in His word, to accomplish the thing spoken as
giving evidence of great faith. Paul states the same truth; there is power
in the Word to bring our lives into harmony with its principles, if we are
willing.

18. When Godís Word is in our hearts, what change will it work in our
lives? Psalm 119:11.

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might
not sin against thee."

Since God is our Maker, we should obey and trust Him. Because He knows
how we are made and what the future will bring. He knows what is best for
us at all times. We can trust His love and wisdom.

He will accept you as His child and will protect and keep you if you
will choose just now, by Godís help, to obey Him; for as we read, "This is
the whole duty of man." Ecclesiastes 12:13

It isnít always easy to obey. Satan tempts us to do that which is not
according to Godís will for us. Remember, though, when Satan is tempting
you to lie, to steal, to disobey your parents, or to act unkindly, Jesus
is right there to give you power to do what is right, if you will only
ask. So, next time you are tempted to tell something that isnít exactly
true, say, "Jesus, I choose to do Your will, please help me to do what is
right," and His power will fill you with the strength needed to do just
that.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians
4:13